Community Minded

Author: Lu Moss

The phrase, ‘no man is an island’ expresses the idea that human beings are better off when they work in a team. Author Stephen Covey echoes a similar sentiment in his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, when he states, “Interdependence is a higher value than Independence”, and if you’re still not convinced, Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) says “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

Many years ago, my psychologist informed me that she thought, not only was I fiercely independent, but perhaps my attitude was better described as ‘anti-dependent’. A self-protective mechanism developed as a result of an abusive childhood to keep myself safe. I was proud of myself. I saw this as a complement and a great asset, despite the fact it was stated as a drawback.

When I was four years old I made my dad a Fathers Day Present at preschool, which he loved and despised simultaneously. It was a glass-jar-penholder. I’d lavishly coated it in glue and rolled it in rice for a textured finish and then painted it red and blue. It was to take prize place on his desk at work and remind him of me….and remind him it DID, many times daily, as it shed copious amounts of rice all over his important documents. One day, rather sadly, he confided to my mother that it accidentally fell into the bin. I was none the wiser about this for a good three decades, until he finally ‘fessed up about how bad he felt. By then some of my own children’s artworks had accidentally fallen into the bin and I was able to be quite forgiving about it. Continue reading “What to do with the craft crap kids bring home from school”→

According to the Urban Dictionary a ‘Hot Mess’ is defined as, ‘When one’s thoughts or appearance are in a state of disarray but they maintain an undeniable attractiveness or beauty’.

I like to think I’m a Hot Mess, but my hotness is more due to hormonal flushes than ‘maintenance of my undeniable beauty whilst in a state of disarray’. The ‘Mess’ part is due to my lack of ability to make my appearance a priority.

I’ve always been a pet person, so entering into parenthood for me was just an excuse to relive all of my own childhood pets again, and then some. I thought I’d do a brief rundown of some of the best and worst pet experiences I’ve had or heard about so here goes…

Like many couples, we initially bought a dog to practice our parenting skills upon. This turned out to not be very reassuring as our Labrador Bronson ate the whole house, including that plastic-handle-thingy on the washing line. For the first 12-months of his life I often felt like surrendering him to the pound and I fearfully delayed getting preggers because the pound doesn’t seem to accept babies.

Happy 46th Birthday!! Here, celebrate with this gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, sugar-free counterfeit cake that doubles as a Kettlebell. Never mind. Stick a candle in some tofu and pretend it’s Pavlova.